How to Remove an Oven Door in 5 Steps

Open the oven door fully and look at the hinges near the edges of the bottom of the door. You may want to have a flashlight near you to help you inspect them.

You will almost always see one of three oven hinge designs. 

Latched Door

The most common type of hinge will have a small bracket that connects the door hardware and hinge. It looks like a small piece of metal that sits horizontally across the hinge.

Latchless Door

The latchless door will not have an obvious latch lined up across the hinge. You’ll only see the hinge.

Locked Latch Door

This is the least common option, and it will have a hidden locked latch on the hinge. Rather than a bracket, you’ll see a small hole in the hinge. This design often has two pieces of metal side by side in the design of each hinge, and the hole is in the same position on both pieces.

The process for unlocking the bracket differs depending on your type of latch. The latchless door does not have a bracket.

Latched Door

If you have a latched door, open it fully. Grasp the bracket on one latch between your thumb and index finger. You should be able to rotate it forward or backward to unlock it. Repeat the process on the other latch.

The brackets should move easily. If you feel like you must force them, they could be stuck from an accumulation of grime. Use the flat-head screwdriver to gently pry them loose. Don’t gouge or jam the screwdriver into the hinge, or you could damage it.

Locked Latch Door

With the latch door locked, open the oven door fully. Take an Allen wrench and slide it through the holes in both metal pieces that make up the hinge. The wrench does not have to fit tightly. You just need to make sure it will stay in place to unlock the hidden bracket as you move the door again. Repeat the process on the other side.

No matter what type of latch your oven door has, you will need to partially close it to pop it loose. Slowly rotate the door upward toward the closed position until it reaches the proper angle to pull it loose. 

Do not hold the door by the handle as you rotate it, especially with a heavy door. Instead, grasp the door on either side as you move it.

Latched Door

The latched door should pull loose when it is about one-quarter to one-half of the way open. 

Latchless Door

With the latchless door, it should pull loose when it is about one-eighth to one-quarter of the way open.

Locked Latch Door

The locked latch door should pull loose when it is about two-thirds to one-half of the way open.

When your oven door reaches the proper angle, pull upward and outward on the door simultaneously to remove it from the oven. Pull evenly on both sides to ensure a smooth removal. You may have to slightly wiggle the door back and forth to start the process, but it should eventually pull loose evenly.

You may feel the door’s weight slightly shift as the hinges loosen, so be prepared to support the weight of the door with your grip. If you feel this shift, you should be able to lift the door loose at this point.

After cleaning or repairing the oven door, follow the same steps you just did, but in reverse order to reconnect the door. Slide the brackets back into the slots carefully, so they go into place evenly.

Once you reconnect the hinges, inspect your door. Make sure it closes flush to the oven. If you have an edge that isn’t quite flush or looks out of place, your brackets might not be lined up properly, so you should try re-attaching your oven door again.